Tri-Hulled Stand-Up Paddle Board

ABSTRACT

A trimaran standup paddleboard includes a main hull having a bow, a mid-beam and a stern. The main hull has a length and shape that extends from a point at the bow, broadens out to the mid-beam, and narrows to a point at the stern. The trimaran standup paddleboard further includes a platform on top and aft the main hull, the platform being planar and extending out sideways beyond the mid-beam of the main hull, and a pair of lateral struts extending laterally out from opposing sides of the main hull behind the platform from a proximal end of each lateral strut. The trimaran standup paddleboard further includes a pair of outrigger hulls, each outrigger hull being connected to a distal end of one of the pair of lateral struts, and positioned parallel with and spaced apart from the main hull aft the platform.

PRIORITY

The current application is a continuation-in-part of U.S. Design Patent Application No. 29/391,842, filed on May 13, 2011, now Pat. No. D662,164, entitled “Stand-Up Paddle Board,” which the disclosures of the priority application is incorporated by reference herein.

BACKGROUND

Stand-up paddleboarding is a water sport that is quickly gaining in popularity. Typically, the sport is performed using a large, buoyant board with a flat upper surface on which a paddler stands, and which is propelled by a long paddle used by the paddler. Conventional stand-up paddleboards (SUPs) also have a flat bottom for stability in the water, but as most SUPs are single-structure crafts, such stability can be sacrificed for speed if the board is made slightly more slender or streamlined.

SUPs are optimized neither for speed or for surfing on waves; rather, their large shape and buoyancy make them suitable for slower waves and for merely cruising on flatter water. This large shape also tends to reduce maneuverability of a SUP for turns and control, and above certain speeds, the typical SUP can become very unstable, particularly for being driven into the water nose-first and causing the SUP to flip end-over-end.

SUMMARY

This document presents a stand-up paddleboard (SUP) that is optimized for speed, maneuverability, and stability, using a tri-hulled, or “trimaran,” design. The trimaran SUP is arranged to allow a paddler to stand on a platform that is positioned for optimal stability, and to allow the paddler to paddle the board efficiently for maximum speed. An arrangement and spacing of two side floats, or outrigger hulls, reduces drag while allowing maneuverability.

In one aspect, a trimaran SUP includes main hull having a bow, a mid-beam and a stern. The main hull has a length and shape that extends from a point at the bow, broadens out to the mid-beam, and narrows to a point at the stern. The trimaran SUP further includes a platform on top and aft the main hull, the platform being planar and extending out sideways beyond the mid-beam of the main hull. The trimaran SUP further includes a pair of lateral struts extending laterally out from opposing sides of the main hull behind the platform from a proximal end of each lateral strut. The trimaran SUP further includes a pair of outrigger hulls, each outrigger hull being connected to a distal end of one of the pair of lateral struts, and positioned parallel with and spaced apart from the main hull aft the platform.

The details of one or more embodiments are set forth in the accompanying drawings and the description below. Other features and advantages will be apparent from the description and drawings, and from the claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

These and other aspects will now be described in detail with reference to the following drawings.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a trimaran SUP.

FIG. 2 is a top view of a trimaran SUP.

FIG. 3 is a bottom view of a trimaran SUP.

FIG. 4 is a left side view of a trimaran SUP.

FIG. 5 is a front view of a trimaran SUP.

FIG. 6 is a rear view of a trimaran SUP.

Like reference symbols in the various drawings indicate like elements.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

This document describes a standup paddleboard (SUP), and in particular a trimaran SUP. In some implementations, the SUP includes a main or center hull, a paddler platform on the top and aft on the main hull, two lateral struts extending laterally out from opposite sides of the main hull behind the paddler platform, and each lateral strut being connected to a stabilizing outrigger hull.

FIGS. 1-6 show various views of a trimaran SUP 100 having a main hull 102, a paddler platform 104 on the top and slightly aft on the main hull 102, a pair of lateral struts 106 extending sideward behind the paddler platform 104, and a pair of outrigger hulls 108, each connected to a distal end of one of the pair of lateral struts 106.

The main hull 102 has a length and shape that extends from a point at the bow, broadens out to the mid-beam, and narrows to a point at the stern. In some implementations, the main hull 102 is hollow and preferably as slender as possible for reducing drag and for slicing through water. The slenderness of the main hull is necessary to decrease wave-making resistance, which creates wakes that could interfere or interact with the pair of outrigger hulls 108. Therefore the main hull 102 has a mid-beam width of 1 to 2 feet for attaining higher speeds, while providing desired buoyancy and stability at high Froude numbers.

To provide stability to possible transverse instability by the slender main hull 102, the pair of lateral struts 106 and pair of outrigger hulls 108 are provided, at a proper separation distance to both provide the stability and to define an channel area for a paddle to navigate to propel the trimaran SUP forward. The spacing between each of the outrigger hulls 108 and the main hull 102 is configured to minimize their interaction with waves generated by resistance of the respective other hulls. As shown in FIG. 4, the outrigger hulls 108 are positioned to be higher than the main hull 102, i.e. preferably at the draught or proximate the waterline of the main hull 102.

The main hull 102 and the pair of outrigger hulls 108 are preferably aligned in parallel and the outrigger hulls 108 are positioned toward the stern of the main hull 102. Thus, as the speed of the trimaran SUP 100 increases, the rate of total drag growth decreases, because the length of interaction between the waves created by the main hull 102 with the outrigger hulls 108 decreases. Resistance further decreases with increasing transverse distance where three hulls bow are aligned.

The paddler platform 104 is positioned over the mid-beam of the main hull 102 and aft of the mid-beam, and can be narrowed aft to decrease possible lateral rotation by a paddler on the main hull near the lateral struts 106. The paddler platform 104 can be coated with a gripping material or cushioning material, such as foam, rubber, or other material.

The main hull 102, the pair of lateral struts 106, and the pair of outrigger hulls 108 can be each formed of a rigid, lightweight material including, but not limited to, fiberglass, glassed-in foam, carbon fiber skin, plastic, wood, or bamboo, with any number of laminates, coatings or seals. A paddler on top of the paddler platform 104 provides the necessary ballast to the main hull 102, but the main hull 102 can be provided with additional ballast for stability.

Although a few embodiments have been described in detail above, other modifications are possible. Other embodiments may be within the scope of the following claims. 

1. A standup paddleboard comprising: main hull having a bow, a mid-beam and a stern, and having a length and shape that extends from a point at the bow, broadens out to the mid-beam, and narrows to a point at the stern; a platform on top and aft the main hull, the platform being planar and extending out sideways beyond the mid-beam of the main hull; a pair of lateral struts extending laterally out from opposing sides of the main hull behind the platform from a proximal end of each lateral strut; and a pair of outrigger hulls, each outrigger hull being connected to a distal end of one of the pair of lateral struts, and positioned parallel with and spaced apart from the main hull aft the platform.
 2. The standup paddleboard in accordance with claim 1, wherein the platform narrows aft on the main hull.
 3. The standup paddleboard in accordance with claim 1, wherein each of the pair of outrigger hulls is positioned at a height proximate a waterline of the main hull.
 4. The standup paddleboard in accordance with claim 1, wherein the main hull is hollow. 